According to debt counseling observations, frequent orders on the Internet are increasingly contributing to the over-indebtedness of private individuals. Of the 577,400 clients of the advice centers last year, 29 percent also had debts to online retailers, as the Federal Statistical Office reports. That was two percentage points more than five years earlier.
With an average of 644 euros, online debt only made up two percent of people’s average debt levels. Much more often, the debtors were indebted to social security funds and telecommunications companies.
Younger people in particular had outstanding liabilities with online and mail order companies last year. This problem occurred in 40 percent of those seeking advice between the ages of 20 and 24. For people over 70, the proportion was only 16 percent. With a share of 36 percent, women were significantly more likely to be in debt online than men, who were at 24 percent. The female debtors also had a significantly higher debt burden, at an average of 843 euros, than the men at 463 euros.